


Sons of the Force

by primaryglitch



Series: The living force [1]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 22:03:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18558757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/primaryglitch/pseuds/primaryglitch
Summary: The forces comes to Luke as he grieves





	Sons of the Force

His heart felt heavy watching the flames as they lick around his father’s mask. He couldn’t bear to see the flame consume his father’s face, so he had thought the mask would help settle his unease. He was wrong. Shielding himself from his father's glassy blue eyes and pale scared skin did nothing to suppress the torrent of grief. Vader, his father, Anakin- they were one in his mind, all interconnected. He willed himself to not look away as the mask began to distort, he had to stay strong and stand vigilant- for his father, for himself, for the bond they had forged. It was the least he could do now and the most he could do now; Had he been able to save his father, it could be different. But that wasn't the case and he was the only one left who would grieve.

Building his father’s pyre was a distant memory. All that came to him was the sickening crackle of the emperor’s, that slaver's, lightening and the glistening pain it brought as it racked through him. The force which had become a comfort, a friend, had turned on him like a cobra with viscous venom. In those moments, his training fell away. He was just a boy, terrified and shaken to his very core calling out to his father for help. If only he had been able to endure longer, if he had remained steady and headstrong as he had been when he declared himself a Jedi. if he had been stronger it wouldn't have turned out like this.

In some ways it felt like he had killed his father. He has finally caught a glimpse of the man he had looked to the star and longed for, the man who his Aunt and Uncle had weaved tales of. How much of it was reflective of Anakin, he could only guess. It sat heavy in his soul not knowing how much of his father's story was long gone, with no one to remember or listen to.

The sounds of Endor faded, only the crackle of the fire came to Luke. The force reached out to him, trying to engulf him, reminiscence Dagobah. Yet this time, he welcomed it. The connection to his father no longer scared him, he craved this. He wished to know more of his father’s life.

Instead of cold tendrils that grabbed had possessed him to venture into that cave, an intense heat climbed over him. It was an unpleasant burning sensation, but he felt a hesitation in the force. His father must be holding back, having felt Luke's desires but not wanting to force this onto him. Luke breathed in and closed his eyes, mentally giving his father permission. Suddenly it was as if Luke was the one in the pyre, pain crashing down onto him. He fell to his knees, collapsing forward but instead of the grassy ground he fell gritty pebbles and ash beneath this hands. In a panic, he glanced wildly around. His eyes burned, vision fraying on the edges but he could see enough to know that the brimstone surrounding were not that of Endor. _Mustafar_ a voice provided, instinctively he knew it as the one of his father, although it did not have the same hoarseness that he knew. In an instant, it was as if he could see his father’s emotions like a wound left to feaster in the force. Repressed rage and hate towards himself directly outwards. Confusion and betrayal. But more than anything, a deep visceral fear of lost that had been confirmed. The feeling that he was trapped, that the only one who he could turn to was his master. He felt consumed by his emotions, as if they would eat him alive. 

Just as the pain became too much, it began to shift. The intensive pain of the flames was switched for a dull aching pain. The rage and aggression burned out, leaving only isolation and regret- lack of reasoning for wanting to exist. Simply existing only because he is ordered to, carrying out tasks mindlessly. The feeling was familiar, not new. Memories of an enslaved childhood flooded forwards, and then the feeling of being bound by the Jedi counsel. Luke felt a deep dread in his stomach, knowing that slavery and serving was a constant in his father’s life, but he swallowed it down. Anakin did not want pity, he knew that much was true if he share the same Tatooine blood.

The crimes of his father's life came to him, not asking for forgiveness or acceptance- just for someone to bear witness. The very first, leaving his mother behind. The next the murder of the village. Then the murder of the children and betraying his brother. Between countless offenses through war. Then the shame of not even remembering how many world he had ripped part after he dulled his sense. Acknowledging Alderaan, and the pain it caused Luke's sister- both of them dare not call her Anakin's daughter. She had not claimed him as Luke had and likely would never.

Despite it all, luke accepted these vision. This was his legacy, a part of him if he were to accept his father. His cruel indifference, his burning rage, his selfishness and possessive urges, his mind numbing grief. His father was part of him- he could not choose cut anakin into pieces as was so common in his lifetime, he would accept all of him.

An odd feeling overcame him, that of pride and gratitude. Through the force, he sent his confusion, his father clarified _You are the first free Skywalker, of both mind and body. And as such, you freed me._ With that thought, memories of suddenly by such flooded over him, all of them of himself. The whirlwind settled, and he felt his father’s presence beside him. he felt as if anakin swelled with pride and adoration. He had no clear surrounding in his sight, almost as if he was floating through all of their encounters. Once his vision settled,Luke saw himself, heard himself, realizing this memory was from earlier this were same day. 

_I am a jedi like my father before me_

It was his own voice he heard instead. Emotions unlike ever before came crashing down on him in powerful waves. He felt Vader's, Anakin's, his father's whirlwind he had ignited. He was being claimed by his son, in a way that would mean certain death. Yet he looked so sure of himself, steadfast in his declaration

_I am a Jedi like my father before me_

The words kept ringing in his ears. He felt tears prickle in his eyes. A Jedi of emotions, of the heart. One whose power comes not from isolation but the bounds built. The Jedi who know compassion is not impartial, that he could not subdue his reactions. The Jedi who follows the code of his heart. He was one with the force, connected to all those living and once living. He knew their pains, their suffering as much as he knew their joy. The force was not impartial and observation, it was alive, just as he was. The force was active, it was compassionate. It mourned with them, it rejoiced with them, loved and hated and felt everything with them. It was them, the most intimate parts of his psyche and soul. It was not binary, not so simple as dark and light. He was a Jedi, one with the force. He knew who he was. He was not static, he could change and fluctuate and yet still headstrong in his sense of self. 

_We are Jedi. I now know what that means, you showed me the way. Our bounds are our strength not our weakness. The masters try to separate us, control us- but no more. Our minds are free in which no shackle can hold us. We are free._

Luke closed his eyes, and silently weep at the statement. Not in grief, for there was nothing to grieve. He had saved his father, death wasn’t the end. He cried all the tears his father hadn’t be able to. He cried all the tears for all the pain his father had endured, for all the pain he had caused. He repented for his father, he enjoyed. The force-this wonderful cycle- enables life to continue on. Simply the next stage, he was now further immersed in the force. He would eventually fade away and become inseparable from the force itself. Luke felt a pang of anxiety at that fact, which did not go unnoticed.

_I will always be here even when you can not reach me. The force surrounds us, she connects us. Mother will always bring her children back together._

When Luke opened his eyes, he was staring at the pyre. The flame was strong, as fierce as the force that seemed to expand through the forest. The force swam around him in its entirely, his father’s signature buried within, yet it was no less of a comforting presence. He could not longer make out is father, but he knew he was there. That he always would be.

Luke smiled at the fire and reached for it. The flames danced around his hand yet he felt not pain and they left no burn. He was not using the force to hold the fire back, it simply held no malice. Luke smiled, thinking the fire’s attitude fitting for a pyre, The flames were a vessel, allowing his father to rest. 

He decided he would return in the morning, when the embers had cooled and would collect what was necessary. While the pyre was fitting for a Jedi, at their core they both were boys form Tatooine. Luke never thought he would crave those harsh sands or cutting winds, but it felt right to bring Anakin there- to allow him to return as a free man. Luke heard a chuckle in this mind _Very well, but now go to your friends- your family. You’ve all accomplished so much, share in their joy. I will always be here. Thank you Luke, my son._


End file.
